Rule Induction for Sentence Reduction

ii I would like to dedicate this thesis to my loving wife, Adelina Amorim, and my three precious children: David, Tiago, and André. iii iv Acknowledgements A work like this is almost impossible to be achieved by a single individual working alone. There are always several very important persons involved, more or less directly and in various levels: scientific, personal, or even in the sentimental/spiritual level. In this few lines I would like to express my deepest gratitude to those having been determinate for the conclusion of this long and hard work. I would like to start by acknowledging my supervisor, Prof. Doctor Gaël Harry Dias, for his constant and relentless support throughout this journey. He was indeed an always presently supporter, guiding me many times, and even motivating me toward new unex-plored scientific and technological territories. My co-supervisor, Professor Pavel Bernard Brazdil, was equally very important for the developing and conclusion of this work. With his long experience as a leading scientist, every piece of advise received from him were carefully observed and incorporated here. I also want to thank all the teachers I had, spe-cially during my B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees, who contributed significantly to my scientific education. At a personal level, I must thank my family, specially my wife, Adelina Amorim, for her constant and almost unconditional support, during several years, allowing me to be absent many times from our three children's family duties. I also thank my parents, António Cordeiro and Emília Madeira, for their constant support. Last but not least, I would like to thank God for all the love, meaning, peace, and direction brought to my life. One day the God from the Bible changed my life, making me a very new being! It is an honor to finish this acknowledgments by including the first three verses from a beautiful biblical poem: "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.&quot